Washington- By the end of the legislative week Friday, 139 Members of the House of Representatives had signed on to a discharge petition to force a vote on H.R. 2279. The bill, introduced by Rep. Joe Pitts (PA-16) would require the President to identify three military bases slated for closure under the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) Commission that would be suitable for locating new oil refineries. The plan would eliminate one of the major hurdles impeding the building of new refineries: finding land.

Congressman Pitts’ statement follows:

“Support continues to build in the House to force votes on legislation that will invest in America’s energy infrastructure. I am confident that a broad, bipartisan majority of the House is hearing the same thing from their constituents that I am hearing from mine: ‘Do something about high gas prices.’ This discharge petition is bringing us closer to forcing the leadership in the House to consider legislation to do just that."

Background

This legislation passed in the House in 2005 as an amendment to a larger energy-related bill, but was never considered in the Senate. It was reintroduced in the 110th Congress. With gas prices approaching record highs across the country, the need has never been greater to increase our nation’s refining capacity. Experts say that expanding our refining capability could significantly decrease the volatility in domestic gas prices.

The discharge petition is a House procedural motion. If a majority of the Members in the House (218) sign onto the petition, the bill must be brought up for a vote on the House floor. Discharge Petition No. 9 was filed by Rep. Phil English on Wednesday, June 18, to discharge H.R. 2279 from the jurisdiction of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and the Committee on Armed Services to be considered on the House floor .

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